Trials and tribulations
by GinaGold fan
Summary: 10. This is the next story in the series. This takes place after the story one for sorrow. What happens to Alex and Smithys relationship when his old flame turns up with much more than he bargained for? Please r and r.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok as promised this is my next fic. This is a continuation from the story one for sorrow. Thanks to those who reviewed that fic.**

**This fic is focused on Smithy and Alex as they celebrate their first wedding anniversary as well as prepare for Christmas; but what will happen when an old flame from Smithys past reappears?**

Christmas Eve in Canley, cold, wet and miserable. What else would you expect? A quiet and peaceful day preferably but unfortunately for Alex, that wasn't going to be the case.

The noise in custody was almost deafening. CID had just brought in a lot of illegal immigrants for questioning, which added to Alexs' burden. She already had several shoplifters in the cells as well as a couple of festive D and D's. Considering it was only ten o'clock in the morning, she already felt stressed and over worked.

Elsewhere in the station Smithy was having a much quieter morning. In fact he was in a much better and a more light hearted mood. He sat in the Sergeants office surfing the internet for holiday ideas. He wanted to take Alex away on holiday after Christmas to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They didn't have a honeymoon when they first got married so he thought it would be the perfect Christmas/new years surprise for her.

He was brought out of his thoughts however when his phone rang. It was an internal call from custody.

"Hello Sergeant Smith speaking." He answered as he lifted the receiver and pressed it to his ear.

"Smithy can you come down and give me a hand please. I'm completely on my own and I need some help to process some suspects that CID has just swamped me with." Alex said sounding very stressed and frazzled.

"Yeah 'course I will. Give me two seconds and I'll be down." Smithy replied. He replaced the handset and logged out of the computer. He walked out of the office, down the Sergeants corridor and towards the custody entrance.

In the front office, a young woman pushed a buggy in out of the cold. The sleeping toddler was oblivious to just how cold it was, wrapped in a warm jacket with a scarf, gloves and hat. Her Mum on the other hand was very much aware of the bitterness outside. Her nose and cheeks were tinged red and she shivered slightly under her long red coat.

Reg noticed the young woman come in and smiled at her as she approached the desk. She had shoulder length wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes. She appeared quite confident and knew exactly what it was that she wanted, or rather who it was that she wanted.

"I want to speak to Dale Smith please." She said after greeting Reg.

"Oh right then. Can I ask what it's in reference to?" He asked sounding a little pompous.

"I'd rather talk to him about it if you don't mind." She replied bluntly.

"Well can I at least have a name so I can let him know who's looking for him?" He pressed.

"If you could just tell him that someone is here to speak to him, I would be greatful. I don't want him knowing who I am just yet." She said mysteriously.

Without saying anything more she walked across to the bench and sat down. She calmly took out a magazine and began to read. Reg picked up the phone and rang through to the Sergeants office; however he didn't get a reply because Smithy was already in custody. Oblivious to this, Reg decided to go in search of the young Sergeant himself.

"Excuse me Madam, I'm going to have to go and look for him because he's not answering the phone." He explained. The woman didn't really respond only turned her attention back to the page she was reading.

Reg entered the main part of the station and headed towards the canteen to start his search for Smithy.

In custody Alexs' nerves were still as short and as frazzled as before. None of the immigrants spoke a word of English which made their processing take twice as long. With so little space and so many people taking it up, custody was very difficult for anyone to move in. People were being pushed and shoved, and with tensions already running high, it wasn't too long before a fight broke out between two of the suspects.

Alex had had enough. She stormed round the custody desk to where the two guys were punching each other. One bloke was holding the other against the wall by his throat. Alex grabbed him and pulled him back but he still insisted on trying to beat the other guy. As he lunged for his victim a second time he lost his balance and punched Alex instead, knocking her to the ground.

Smithy ran to his wifes aid as other officers took control of the situation and restrained her attacker.

"Are you alright Alex?" He asked as he helped her up.

"Yeah I'm fine." She replied irritably.

She wasn't hurt apart from a small cut on her forehead from where she had caught it on the bench.

"You should get the FME to take a look at that." Smithy said, gesturing to the cut.

"Yeah I'd better had. No doubt we'll need it for the crime report." She said as she looked at him.

"Actually I was thinking more along the lines that we know you haven't done any permanent damage. Although it was only your head you banged so no chance of that." He joked with a grin.

She playfully glared at him before trying to stand. Smithy led her along the corridor to the FMEs' room. Alex was just going in when Reg caught up with them.

"Oh Smithy, there's a young woman waiting in the front office for you. She refused to give me her name or tell me what it was that she wanted, all she said is that she wanted to see you." Reg explained.

"Right cheers Reg tell her I'll be with her as soon as I can." Smithy replied. He turned to follow Alex into the FMEs' room but she held her hands up and stopped him.

"I'm a big girl now Smithy, I can manage on my own." She said.

Knowing better than to argue with his wife, Smithy turned on his heel and walked towards the front office. He wondered who on earth was looking for him. Alex watched from the doorway as her husband disappeared round the corner, before disappearing into the FMEs' room herself.

Smithy stopped at the door to the front office and entered the pin code that opened it. As he walked in he didn't see anyone at first until he looked round the corner and saw the young woman. As soon as he saw her he recognised her straight away.

"Caroline, what… what are you doing here?" He stammered.

"Dale, it's nice to see you again." She replied, ignoring his astonishment at her presence.

He led her into the front interview room and held the door open for her as she pushed the buggy in. Once she was sat and settled again, he repeated his question.

"It's nice to see you too, but what are you doing here? Last I heard you had moved to New Zealand after we…"

"After we split, yes I did. Things didn't work out between me and Andy; we split recently so now I'm back here to live." She explained.

Carolines' daughter stirred as she gradually woke. She lifted her out of her buggy and placed her on her knee.

"Who's this little one then?" Smithy asked as he playfully pulled faces her.

"This is Suzanna." Caroline answered.

"Hello Suzanna, and how old are you?" He said.

"She's just turned three." Caroline answered after a few moments of silence.

"Does Andy still see her or did he stay in New Zealand?" He asked, totally unaware of what was coming next.

"Actually that's what I'm here to talk to you about. Andy isn't her Father, you are."


	2. Chapter 2

Smithy sat in a state of shock. He didn't know what to say or do. He just stared at Caroline open mouthed.

"Well say something please Smithy." Caroline pleaded.

"I don't know what to say. Are you sure I'm her father?" He asked finally as he found his voice.

"Yes I'm quite sure." She replied a little indignantly.

"I'm happily married Caroline, have you any idea what this could do to my relationship with my wife? The past six months have been quite rocky, so you'd better be sure of your facts before you come back and spoil everything." Smithy said angrily.

Caroline looked at him with a hurt and upset expression. Smithy then felt guilty so he softened his tone.

"I'm sorry. It's just that my family means the world to me and I couldn't bare it if I lost them." He explained more calmly.

"And what about us? What about Suzanna? She's your family too." Caroline replied with a quiver in her voice.

"I will do everything I can for you, but I need to speak to my wife. I also need to know that I am her father 100 per cent." He said.

"So what are you suggesting that she has a paternity test?" She said.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm suggesting. After all I'm not the only possibility am I?" Smithy said as he looked at Suzanna who was sat silently playing with a toy.

Caroline didn't reply to his last statement but chose to look at a patch on the floor instead.

"I need to get back to work if you don't mind. Have you got a number I can contact you on later?" He asked.

She nodded and wrote her mobile number on a small slip of paper before handing it to him. She then stood up and wheeled the buggy back out of the station. Smithy slammed the door behind him in temper. How was he going to tell Alex? He didn't want to tell her and spoil their anniversary; but he realised he would have to say something.

He walked back towards the FMEs' room to see how Alex was getting on.

The FME began to examine Alexs' head wound. It wasn't deep; in fact it looked worse than it was. Alex winced in pain as the FME cleaned the cut.

"Sorry Alex but I need to clean it, so would you please keep still." The examiner said with frustration, as Alex moved again.

Alex huffed and sighed as she finally gave in and let the FME do what she needed to. Finally a knock at the door broke the silence that had filled the room. Smithy walked in looking tired and very drained.

"You alright Smithy?" Alex asked as he joined her.

"Me? Yeah I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" He replied a little suspiciously.

"I was just wonderin', it's just you look tired all of a sudden." She said.

"Everything is fine." He said.

Alex glanced at Smithy lovingly.

Smithy smiled but felt a pang of guilt. He had a very sick feeling at the bottom of his stomach.

"Right well that's you free to go. It's not too serious so you should be fine, but I suggest that you stay in the station for the rest of the day." The FME stated.

Alex rolled her eyes as she jumped down from the trolley that she had been sat on. She then walked out of the room with Smithy and they both headed towards the Sergeants corridor.

On their way there they bumped into Gina. She had taken the time between Christmas and New Year off. She was carrying baby Gina in one arm and holding Nicolas' hand with her free hand.

"Hello you two, we were just looking for you." She said as she greeted her daughter and son-in-law.

"Hey Mum, how are you?" Alex asked as she hugged Gina the best she could.

"I'm alright thanks, but what happened to you?" She asked with concern as she noticed the cut on Alexs' head.

Alex gave a small laugh before answering.

"Oh that's nothing. I'll tell you what happened later. Anyway what are you doing here on your day off?" She replied.

"Well I was wonderin' if you both had some spare time to come grab a cup of coffee with me and your Dad. We have something for you." Gina explained mysteriously.

"Yeah sure why not, it'll get us away from this place for a while." Smithy said.

"Right well, I'll just grab my coat and then we'll meet you outside." Alex said.

Gina led the two girls back out into the cold to wait for Smithy and Alex to join them. Once they were ready they walked round to a small café, not too far from the station.

Alex was wondering what it was that her Mum and Dad was planning. She had noticed that over the past week they had both been behaving very suspiciously, secretively and definitely not their usual selves.

Once everyone was sat with a drink or something to eat in front of them, Gina and Davey launched into their explanation.

"We wanted to do something special this year for Christmas to celebrate your first wedding anniversary, our first Christmas together and to celebrate Heathers' pregnancy." Davey explained as he looked at his family.

"That's why we decided we just wanted to spend it away from everyone else and spend it with those who mattered. So we've booked a cabin for a large group of us for tonight through to New Year. You have both been given the time off so you don't have to worry about that." Gina filled in.

Alex felt excited about the whole idea. So did Smithy but he was worried at the same time.

"Where is it and who is coming?" Alex asked.

"It's literally in the middle of no where. It's large enough to hold twenty five people plus. There'll be obviously myself and your Dad with Nicola; you and Smithy with your kids; David and his partner; Heather and Stephen; Ruth and William; Lizzie, your mother and your step Dad have agreed to join us as well; and Smithy we were thinking of inviting Pauline if she can make it. I think that's everyone." Gina replied feeling pretty excited herself (although she hid it better than Alex).

Alex gave a little squeal of delight before hugging her Mum and Dad.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea, I love it. What do you say Smithy?" She said.

"I think it's a fantastic idea as well, it'll be nice for everyone to be together." He said. He did feel genuinely excited about their plans but felt that it couldn't have come at a worse time. How was he going to tell Alex about Caroline with everyone else there as well?

"Do you think your Mum would like to join us?" Davey asked Smithy.

"I'm sure she would love to. She likes to spend time with us and in fact she was with us for Christmas last year." He replied.

"Well that's great then. You're able to get off early so we will all meet at the pub. It seems easier to get everyone to follow us rather than trying to give you all directions. Those of us who can car share are going to do so. If you leave work at around half four, that'll give you time to pack. We will then meet at half past five-ish. Is that ok?" Gina asked.

"That's perfect. I'm a lot happier now than I was this morning. I'm all cheered up." Alex said very cheerfully.

Once they had finished their drinks they all went their separate ways. Gina was going to pack for the girls with Caras' help. It would then give Alex and Smithy time later to worry about themselves.

The young couple walked happily back to the station hand in hand. Smithy didn't say very much on the walk back; in fact he didn't say anything at all. Alex picked up on this and wondered what was wrong.

"Are you alright with this trip away Smithy? Only you haven't said very much since they told us." She said as she stopped and looked at him.

He couldn't bare it any longer, he had to tell her. He sat her on the wall outside the station and told her everything.

"I'm fine about going away; actually I'm quite looking forward to it. But I have something I need to tell you and you're not going to be very happy about it. When you were in seeing the FME earlier, I went to see that woman who was waiting in the front office for me. Her name is Caroline Buchannan. She and I used to be together a few years back. Our relationship was nothing serious, but we split up after I found out that she had cheated on me. A couple of weeks after we split she moved to New Zealand with her new boyfriend and I never heard from her again; until today." He began.

"So what did she want?" Alex asked calmly.

Smithy swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"She has a three year old daughter called Suzanna…" He started to say when Alex cut him off.

"Are you her Dad?" She said sounding shocked.

"Caroline says I am and it's not out of the question, but I swear I didn't know." He added quickly.

As Smithy had anticipated, Alex looked hurt.

"Does she want you back?" She asked.

"I don't think so but she probably wants money out of me. I've asked for a DNA test because I'm not entirely convinced." He finished explaining.

Alex didn't say anything for a couple of minutes, which felt more like an eternity.

"Alex, I'm really sorry." He whispered, he didn't know what else to say.

She looked at him and smiled weakly.

"Don't be. I mean it's not like you've had an affair or anything is it? If the girl turns out to be your daughter then you should have as much contact with her as possible. I want you to. But if Caroline wants you back, then she'll have to get past me first." Alex joked. She smiled at Smithy who hadn't quite realised that she was joking. When he finally did realise he smiled and laughed as he hugged her tightly.

"You're very sexy when you're jealous you know." He said.

She laughed at him as well and raised her eyebrow.

"So are we ok then?" He asked.

"Yeah of course we are. I won't deny that I'm shocked and a little hurt but I love you more than I love anyone else. That's all that matters to me." She replied.

She moved her chin up and looked him in the eyes. His gaze softened and he lovingly kissed her and held her close. He pulled away slightly and ran his fingers through her hair.

"You and the kids mean everything in the world to me. And I love you more than I love anyone else too. This last year and a half with you has been fantastic." He explained.

"Wow, has it really been a year and a half already? Come on we'd better get back to work before they send a search party for us." She un-curled herself from him and stood up.

"Oh by the way Smithy, happy anniversary."


	3. Chapter 3

At half past four that evening, Alex and Smithy left work and headed home to start their packing. They talked more about the Caroline situation and what they should do about it.

Alex had been trying to push the negative thoughts out of her mind all day and not think about it, but she just couldn't. The more she thought about it the more upset she became. She wasn't upset with Smithy though, she couldn't blame him for it, but she felt lost and didn't know which way to turn.

Smithy had stayed downstairs once they opened their front door. He went into the kitchen to make them both a cup of tea and Alex went upstairs to pack.

Upstairs she was carefully folding and placing items of clothing into a large suitcase, which was laid on their bed. She was thinking about Smithy, her family and this new woman in their life threatening to spoil everything. She was so lost in her angry thoughts, that she hadn't noticed the clothes were no longer being placed carefully into the case, but were now being chucked in untidily.

Smithy walked into the room with two cups of tea in his hands. He saw his wife angrily throwing in their clothes and knew straight away that she was letting his news get to her. He put the cups down on to the bedside cabinet and placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her round to face him. He held her tightly and she looked up at him apologetically.

"I thought you said we were ok." He said.

"I know I did, and we are. I've just been thinking…"

"Come here." He said as he pulled her down onto the bed beside him. "What have you been thinking?"

She sighed and didn't know really how to explain how she felt.

"We are ok I promise." She repeated. "I've been thinking all day about you, and I wonder if you ever feel like you had to settle for second best when you married me. I know how you felt about Kerry and Louise an…" But before she could finish her sentence Smithy placed his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Now do you promise to keep quiet and listen to me whilst I explain this to you?" He asked mischievously.

She rolled her eyes but nodded her agreement. He removed his hand and expected her to interrupt, but she did as she was told and kept silent.

"Yes I loved Kerry and Louise, and yes I was devastated when they died. But I love you and my family more. I have never felt that I had to 'settle for second best' by marrying you, and if you think that then you clearly don't know me very well. I've told you before that I loved you long before we were together. I was never able to tell you how I felt, but when we finally did get it together it was the best thing to happen to me. Do you ever think I only asked you to marry me because you were pregnant?" He said.

Alex thought for a moment.

"I don't know, I guess I have wondered…" She struggled awkwardly.

"Well I didn't. My brother asked me that very question on the morning of our wedding, when I told them that you were expecting. I'll tell you the exact same thing that I told him. You being pregnant was not the reason I asked you, but it was the push I needed. Even though we had only been together a very short while, I'd already been considering asking you. So there you go." He explained as he pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead.

She sighed before replying.

"I guess I have been thinking irrationally haven't I?" She said.

"Come on I'll help you with the rest of the packing, otherwise we will never get there. Do you promise that you won't think about Caroline or her daughter for the next week?" He asked as they both stood up from the bed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly.

"Yes I promise, cross my heart." She said as she made a cross motion across her chest.

"That's better." He replied.

They turned round and quickly placed their clothes into the suitcase again. Within a very quick twenty minutes they were standing at the bottom of their stairs with the case fully packed and fit for bursting. Everyone's presents were packed as well, that was making up the main bulk of their bag. Smithy took the bag from Alex and loaded it into the car.

Everyone else was waiting at the pub for them to arrive. Smithys' Mum had agreed to join them for their break away. They needed to pick her up before they could head to the Seven Bells.

Smithy drove quickly round to his Mums' (her house was on the outskirts of Canley.) and then headed back towards the pub. Once there, everyone cheered as they walked in the door.

"Finally, we were just about to send out a search party." Gina joked.

"Very funny." Alex replied.

"Yeah sorry we're late, but Alex decided to change her shoes three times only to go with the ones she originally had on." Smithy said as he dodged a well earned slap from his wife.

"Well you're here now." Davey said cheerfully. "Well we'd better set off now. Alex, Smithy, we've sorted out between us who is going to go in which car. We are taking Molly Nicola and Cara; you two will take the twins, baby Gina, Pauline and Liz because you've got the biggest car; Ruth, Heather and their partners will go in their car; then Susan, Alistair, David and Sarah are going together. I think that is everyone, or have I forgotten anyone?" He said.

At that moment someone who was sat behind him (and out of Alexs' sight) gave a small cough. Davey stepped aside to let whoever it was through.

"Cameron!" Alex exclaimed with surprise.

Cameron was Alexs' younger brother from her adoptive parents' side. She hadn't seen him or his wife in over a year. They used to own a restaurant in the west end of London, but they moved themselves and their business out to Australia.

The siblings hugged tightly with delight.

"Oh my god Cam when did you get here?" She asked.

"This morning. Katrina and I were planning on coming over as a surprise, and then about a week ago Mum phoned and told us about Gina and Daveys trip away. So we thought we would join you." He explained.

"Well it's great to have you here. I hate to admit it, but I've actually missed you." She replied.

"Well guys this reunion is touching but hadn't we better get going?" Liz said as she made her way to the door.

"Awww is ickle Lizzie feeling all left out?" Alex mocked playfully with a childish tone. Liz didn't say anything but chose to glare instead. "Don't worry, I'd miss you lots if you weren't here." She added as she placed her arm around her younger sisters' shoulders.

"I should hope so." Liz replied.

Once outside, everyone climbed into their designated cars. Gina strapped Molly and Nicola into their car seats as Cara got herself in. Gina then sat in the front passenger seat herself. Davey turned on his ignition and turned his car onto the main road, leading the convoy of family members to their destination.

It would take at least three hours before they would get there. It took them just over an hour to get through the busy streets of London. Finally they made good progress as they headed further north.

Smithy was driving their people carrier. Alex was now feeling very tired after being on the road for two and a half hours. She had fallen asleep peacefully and woke up once they were within five miles of their final destination. She was excited to see that outside it was snowing.

"How long have I been asleep?" She asked as she blinked sleepily.

"Not long, not quite an hour." Smithy said.

Alex looked behind her and saw that Liz, the twins and baby Gina had fallen asleep as well.

At quarter to ten Davey turned the car into a very large driveway. The driveway led to a grand wooden cabin. Alex was amazed at what she saw. The cabin sat on top of a hill which was sheltered by pine trees. It was still snowing but not very heavily.

They all piled out of the cars in a bit of a sleepy heap. Gina stiffly stood up out of their car and it was pretty obvious that she had fallen asleep as well and had only just woken. Cara helped Nicola out of her seat as Gina tried to stir Molly who was still hard and fast asleep. As she did so Molly began to cry. She hated being woken once she was in a deep sleep, she felt disorientated and scared.

"Shhh." Gina soothed as she lifted her and hugged her tightly.

When she came round a little more she hugged close to her Granny, and Gina walked over to be beside Alex.

"So what do you think?" She whispered.

"Mum… I'm speechless… it's absolutely gorgeous and perfect." Alex replied.

"Well come on lets go inside before we freeze to death." Gina said as she led everyone inside.

Once inside they could all see that it was even more beautiful than the outside (which nobody could believe was possible.) It was designed in a fairly old fashioned way. The living room was open planned and huge compared to what they had all been expecting. It had a very large open fire to keep them warm and there were five squashy armchairs and two settees positioned in front of it. An oak spiral staircase sat in the middle of the living room just behind the chairs. The kitchen was further into the middle of the cabin. Like the living room it was very large, more than big enough for everyone that was there.

The guys brought all of the bags and suitcases from the cars and plonked them in the centre of the dining room which was just off the kitchen.

"Right well I think if we all go to our rooms and sort our selves and the kids out first; we can then just come and go as we please." Davey said as he stifled a yawn.

"Sounds great." Alex said as she stood up from the table where she had sat with a cup of tea in front of her.

They sorted out who was going to be going into which rooms and then they started to unpack. All the kids were put to bed whilst the adults headed downstairs for some r and r.

"Well this is a fantastic place. Thanks to you both for coming up with such a wonderful idea." Ruth said.

"Well we realised that this year has had it's up and it's downs, so we thought that it was important that we all spend this Christmas together; but we also wanted to celebrate all of the good things that have happened this year." Davey replied looking at Gina, clearly thinking about their relationship and marriage.

As the night wore on, and as morning drew ever closer, one by one they disappeared to bed until it was just Alex and Gina left up.

"Will you help me put the presents under the tree?" Alex asked, pointing at the bags of Christmas gifts that had been left by the door.

"Yeah sure I will." Gina replied as she pulled her self up from the armchair she had been resting in.

A Christmas tree had been erected and decorated brightly in a corner of the living room; all that was missing was the gifts. Alex placed them under box and parcel at a time. She came across her present to Gina and decided to give it to her then instead of waiting until later that morning.

"Mum I'm glad that I've got you on your own because I want to give you yours now." Alex said as she handed Gina a large well wrapped box.

"What is it?" She asked as she began to peel away the paper.

"Well open it and find out." Alex replied mischievously.

Once Gina had unwrapped all of the decorative paper she revealed a plain white box. Alex began to explain when Gina lifted the lid off.

"Do you remember months ago you mentioned that you wish you had more pictures of me growing up? Well it got me thinking, so with some help from my sister and my mother we designed this photo album for you." She said as Gina opened each page to reveal a young Alex at a different stage in her life. "It starts at when I was about three months old and goes right the way up to quite recent." She added.

It was Ginas' turn to be speechless. She felt overwhelmed as she looked down at her daughter as she stared up from the pages with a smiley cheeky grin.

"Oh Alex, this really is beautiful." Was all she could say.

"I hope it's ok for you, I mean it's not a lot or anything." Alex replied modestly.

"It's more than just ok darling. It means a lot to me." She said with tears in her eyes.

"Happy Christmas Mum, we certainly deserve it. Now if you don't mind I'm away to my bed because I feel exhausted." Alex said as she hugged Gina.

"Yeah me too. I'll see you in the morning." Gina replied as mother and daughter parted to their beds.


	4. Chapter 4

Half past eight came round far too quickly for Alexs' liking. She was awoken by Molly running into the room she was sharing with Smithy, screaming happily at the top of her voice;

"Come on Mummy get up. Get up please." She pleaded.

"Oh come on then. I guess I can't complain too much about the time." Alex answered as she stood up and put her dressing gown on.

Smithy on the other hand was not prepared to get up just yet, so he rolled onto his side and refused to move. Alex looked from him to Molly and then back again. Molly looked at her Mum excitedly and Alex nodded her head. They both lunged for Smithy, tickling him and pushing him until he finally gave in.

"Alrigh', alrigh' I give up. I'll come down now." He said as he dragged his legs from under the warmth of the duvet.

Through in Gina and Davey's room, they too were being disturbed by Nicola.

"Can we get up now? I want to see what Santa has left me. I bet Molly's up." Nicola whined.

Gina looked at Nicola with one eye. She was still laid on her side and didn't feel like getting out of bed and into the cold air of the bedroom.

"Pleeeese." Nicola tried to add sweetly.

Davey didn't look at Nicola, but grabbed her wrist and pulled her playfully down beside him and Gina. He blew kisses onto her cheeks and smiled as she wriggled and laughed. Gina enjoyed watching Davey with his daughter and she really enjoyed playing a key role in the little girl's life.

"Come on then, shall we go see what Santa has left for you?" She said as she picked Nicola up and headed towards the door with her, closely followed by Davey.

Outside in the hall way they bumped into Alex, Smithy and their children.

"I reckon it's a conspiracy against parents you know." Alex commented to her Mum.

Gina smiled at her daughter.

"Well if we have to be up so can everybody else." Davey said as he banged loudly on everyone else's doors.

"Everyone has to be up and downstairs in five minutes." He shouted.

At that moment Heather came out of one of the nearby bathrooms looking pale and unwell.

"You alrigh' darlin'?" Alex asked comfortingly.

"Yeah I will be, it's just my morning sickness getting me down a touch. So if you don't mind I'm going back to bed for a while." She said as she made her way back to her room.

"Right that's fine, but as for the rest of you, downstairs." Davey replied.

Everyone walked sleepily from their rooms and into the hallway. They were pulling on dressing gowns or trying to quickly get dressed. All of the children were waiting impatiently at the top of the stairs. Finally they started to head down, the kids went down first, closely followed by the adults.

Once they got into the living room and the light was switched on, they were all amazed by the amount of presents that spilled out on to the floor. They had to tip toe round every one of them before they could get a seat. In a matter of seconds the frenzied sound of ripping paper had filled the air.

Davey disappeared upstairs to get some more presents that hadn't gone under the tree. The first present he came down with was very large. He walked back into the mass of paper, kids and presents, and placed his present in front of baby Gina who was sat on Alexs' knee.

"Come on then little one; let's see what we have here for you." He said as he took her from Alex.

He sat down on the floor with baby Gina and helped her unwrap the bright red, shiny paper. After a couple of minutes the picture on the front of the box was revealed, and Alex was surprised to see a photo of a pink tricycle on the front.

"What are you two doing buying such expensive gifts for them?" She exclaimed.

"Well they're our Grandchildren so we can buy them whatever we like." Gina replied, playfully reprimanding her daughter.

Davey headed back to get the rest of the gifts for Cara, Molly and the twins. Gina helped Molly to unwrap hers, Alex unwrapped the present for the twins, and Cara unwrapped her own. Molly was overjoyed to receive a lovely Victorian styled dolls house; complete with furniture and a family. Gina loved seeing the look of pleasure on her Granddaughters face. Cara loved her present as well, a new iPod with iTunes vouchers. Alex unwrapped a lovely activity play set for the twins. It was bright and colourful with flashing lights and a fantastic array of touch and feel characters.

Once everyone had opened their gifts, the adults started to clear away the mess that had been created, whilst the kids began to play with their new toys. Alex, Gina and Susan were in the kitchen cooking a large breakfast for them all. The Christmas dinner wouldn't be until much later that evening, so they needed something substantial to keep them going.

The whole house was bustling with noise and chatter. The kids screamed and ran around as Smithy chased them in the house. He had been very pleased to receive a new Nintendo Wii from Alex and he had been trying to set it up when he was pounced on by his daughters.

"Come here you." Alex heard him shout playfully. She walked into the living room to find him holding Molly upside down. She was laughing and screaming as he tickled her. She was enjoying watching her family as they played happily together. It wasn't too long though before her mind wandered back to the problem that awaited them when they got home. Gina noticed that her daughter didn't seem her usual self and was quieter than usual.

"Is everything alright darlin'?" She asked.

No matter how hard she tried, Alex knew she would never be able to hide anything from her Mum. She sat down at the kitchen table and Gina sat opposite her. Alex explained what had happened the day before, and Gina felt her daughters' pain. She knew how much her family meant to her and understood how much this affected them all. Gina tried to comfort Alex the best she could when Smithy came bouncing into the kitchen, unaware that Gina knew about Caroline.

"The kids want to go sledging after breakfast. How much longer until it's ready?" He asked cheerfully.

Alex smiled at him and stood up beside him. She wrapped her arm around his back so he placed his hand on the small of hers.

"It should be ready now actually." She said. "Is there a lot of snow?"

"Yeah, have you not looked outside?" He asked excitedly.

"No I haven't. If you haven't noticed, I have been a little busy." She replied with a smile.

At that moment everyone came running into the dining room laughing and talking loudly. They all sat down to the breakfast that had been prepared for them. Alex pushed the thoughts of Caroline out of her mind again, sitting down to enjoy her breakfast with her family. Plates and dishes with hot food on were being passed quickly round the table from person to person.

Once they were happily fed, Smithy and the kids went to get washed and dressed. Gina and Davey decided to join them on the hill at the back of the cabin as well. It wasn't a very steep hill but steep enough for sledging. Alex wrapped herself and her daughters in several layers to try and keep warm. Baby Gina didn't quite know what to make to all this white stuff. She had never experienced proper snow before.

Alex put her onto the ground and showed her how the snow melted in their hands. As she knelt beside her younger daughter, Molly and Nicola came running up to her and pounced on her back. She playfully pushed them into the snow and then showed them how to make snow angles. Baby Gina tried her best but she just flailed her arms and legs in the air instead. Alex laughed at the sight when something wet and cold hit her on the side of her head. She spun round to see Smithy standing smugly with another snowball in his hands.

"Right you, you're in trouble now." Alex said as she scooped a large pile of snow into her own hands.

She ran towards him and threw the lump at him. Smithy ducked a little too late and the snow went down the back of his neck and t-shirt.

"Aw, that's cold." He screeched like a girl.

Alex laughed and screamed herself when he lunged at her playfully. He rugby tackled her to the ground and tried to pelt her with more snow. They were slipping and sliding as they tried to stand up. Gina and Davey were enjoying watching them.

"Don't you even think about aiming that at me." Gina said to Alex as she came towards her with a small ball of snow.

"Too late I already have." Alex replied, throwing it at her Mum.

Luckily it missed and hit the tree behind Gina, causing Alex to laugh and for Gina to glare at her with her hands on her hips.

After being outside for a couple of hours, they walked back into the warmth of the cabin. The fire was lit and emanating a wonderfully warm glow. Smithy flumped down onto one of the armchairs next to it. Alex saw him as he rested, exhausted from his excursion up the hill. She walked over to him and he pulled her onto his knee. She cuddled up close to him, curling her legs over his. She ran her hand under his t-shirt as he held her close. She rested her forehead against his and he looked up at her, pressing a kiss on the end of her nose.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" He whispered.

"I'm having a fantastic time. This was such a great idea; it's wonderful to spend time with your family." She replied cheerfully.

"Yeah I agree, but I don't think any of us will be staying up late tonight." He said referring to the fact that almost everyone was sat sleepily in a chair.

Later on, once everyone was rested, the dinner table was set. The kids danced gleefully in the living room to some Christmas music.

_"Rocking around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop..."_ Alex sang to herself as she placed cutlery on the table.

Susan, Liz and Pauline were in the kitchen preparing the meal. They had been cooking for most of the day and they too were feeling tired and hungry.

"Alex, will you tell that lot to come and get it before it goes cold?" Susan asked her.

"Right those of you who want feeding had better come and get it, or else it's going in the dog." She shouted.

Doing as they were told, they all ran into the dining room and took their place at the table.

"But we haven't got a dog." Nicola said as she walked past Alex.

Alex didn't reply but smiled at her and laughed instead.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the week past surprisingly quick for everyone and before they knew it, it was New Years Eve. Alex had really enjoyed spending time with her newer siblings as well as Lizzie and Cameron. It reminded her of the happier times they had spent together when they were younger. Gina and Davey were happy with the way the week had progressed and pleased that everybody else shared their view.

At eight o'clock Alex decided to put the younger children to bed. The adults downstairs laughed and joked as their party got into full swing. Alex, Heather, Ruth and David had decided to make a special fuss of Gina and Davey, and throw a joint New Years/Thank you party. The kids had even made a 'Thank you' banner for them.

Smithy passed the Champaign round, making sure everyone had a top up. Davey stood next to Gina with his arm around her shoulders. Once Alex had come back down to her family, David stood up to make his speech.

"This lot nominated me to say a few words of thanks to you both. This was a fantastic idea and I'm glad that I could be a part of it, as I'm sure we all feel the same. This last year has been more than eventful with its ups and downs; not only did we gain a new sister but we also gained a wonderful Step-Mum, and you have both been great support to Ruth, Heather, Nicola and myself in coping with our own Mothers tragic death. If the events of this year have taught us anything then it's that family is all that matters, so on that note I would like you to all raise your glasses to my Dad and Gina and to family." David said as he raised his own glass.

"To family." Everyone echoed round the room.

Gina looked at her own daughter and her smile broadened. Alex smiled back and then looked at her large, extended family, thinking about how lucky she really was.

Everyone sat around in the chairs chatting away until the clock on the mantel piece chimed midnight.

"Happy new year." They all said in unison as they hugged and kissed each other (or shook hands if you were a guy).

Alex pressed play on the CD player, and the song Auld Lang syne began to play. They danced and sang merrily into the small hours of the morning, enjoying what was left of their break away. Once they were completely exhausted, they parted to their beds, still very much in good spirits.

The next morning they rushed round trying to collect their things and repack. They kept bumping into each other on the stairs or arguing over the bathroom. They decided that none of them would have time to make breakfast; so they made their way to a local service station, which was a couple of miles down the road. Some still had sore heads from the previous night and the thought of a fully cooked English breakfast made them feel worse.

Back onto the road they made their way quickly back to Sun Hill. The roads had been surprisingly quiet and the weather conditions had been calm, although quite chilly.

"Well that's a holiday to remember and I'm pretty sure we will be talking about it for some time to come." Alex said as she entered her kitchen.

"Yeah I know what you mean, back to reality now; and work." Smithy commented as he dragged the suitcases into the hall.

"I'm really sad that's all over." Cara said with a sigh, resting her chin in her hands on the table.

Alex smiled and kissed her daughter on the head before ruffling her hair.

"Did you enjoy spending time with Ruth and Heather?" Alex asked her.

"Yeah they're really nice. Heather has said I can come visit her and Stephen any time after school. Her house is on my way home so I can call in and say hi." Cara replied excitedly.

Later on that afternoon, the kids went out to play in the back garden leaving Alex and Smithy in the house. Smithy was getting ready to call round to his Mums' again with something she had left in the car.

"I won't be long." He said as he pulled on his coat. He kissed Alex goodbye and drove off in their car.

Alex settled herself in front of the TV to watch a film when she heard someone knock on the door. Expecting it to be Smithy, apologising for forgetting his key again, she was surprised to see a young woman on her doorstep. Alex didn't need to be told who the young woman was; she surmised that she had to be the elusive Caroline.

"Can I help you?" Alex asked with a slight frosty tone.

"I'm looking for Dale, is he in? I'd really like to speak to him." Caroline replied.

"He's not in at the moment. He's had to go round to his Mums', but he should be back very soon." She said.

"Oh, can I come in and wait for him? Only I live on the other side of Canley so I don't really want to come back again today." Caroline asked abruptly.

Alex was taken aback by Carolines' abruptness.

_How rood can you be?_ Alex thought as she reluctantly stepped aside to let Caroline through.

Caroline took a seat in the living room and Alex went back into the kitchen to re-boil the kettle. Luckily for Alex, Smithy came back 20 minutes later.

"It's only me. Sorry I took so long, but you know what my Mum is like, she insisted I had something to eat." He shouted from the hall.

"Don't worry about it." Alex replied.

He walked into the kitchen where Alex handed him his mug.

"You have a visitor by the way." She said despondently.

"Who is it?" He asked, taking a sip from his mug.

Alex didn't reply but chose to raise her eyebrow instead. Smithy didn't need to ask twice. He walked into the living room pulling Alex in with him by the hand.

"Caroline, what can I do for you?" He asked as he walked in.

"Well I wanted a private word." She replied, not looking away from Smithy but gesturing to Alex.

"Whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of Alex as well. She is my wife after all." Smithy said, making a point of the last statement.

"I've been trying to get hold of you for the last week but you've not been answering. I wanted to talk to you about Suzanna and the DNA test. I need to know when you're free to do it. Obviously the sooner the better, after all, we want you to have a part in **our** daughters' life." Caroline added the last bit more for Alexs' benefit than Smithy's.

Alex rose above her snipe and let it go over her head.

"If you will excuse me, I want to just check on the twins." She said as she walked out of the room.

She made her way into the nursery and lifted Alexander out of his cot. He gurgled away happily as he looked up at his Mum, who in turn smiled down at him. About five minutes later Smithy came in looking apologetically at her.

"Is she gone?" Alex asked angrily.

"Yeah she's gone. I put her right about the comment she made. That was cruel, sorry. Are you alright?" Smithy said.

Truthfully Alex wasn't ok. She felt terrified that she was going to lose Smithy to his 'new found' family. She knew that it was irrational but it was eating away at her.

"Yes I'm fine." She lied badly.

She tried to avoid eye contact with him but he forced her to look at him. She slowly shook her head and he pulled her close as tears slowly ran down her cheeks.

"I hate to be the jealous wife but I don't want her here; I don't want her near my family; and I don't want her near you. I don't care if that sounds unnecessary and over possessive but that is how I feel." Alex said into his shirt.

Smithy smiled and hugged her tighter, trying not to squash Alexander of course who was still being held by Alex.

"I'd feel the same way about you if your ex David ever turned up. First I would like to chin him though for what he did to you by having an affair; then I'd feel jealous and over possessive." He said.

Alex laughed and choked back tears.

"Why do you always have that effect on me? No matter what the problem is you can always cheer me up with one little sentence." She exclaimed.

"There will only ever be one woman in my life, and that's you." He said before correcting himself when Cara, Molly and baby Gina came running in and stood by Esthers' cot. "I take that back; there will only ever be five wonderful women in my life."

A few days later he went to have the DNA test done to prove if he was or wasn't Suzanna's father. He wasn't sure what he was hoping the result would be and he knew he would have a while to wait for the result. He spent the next couple of weeks throwing himself into his work and family life, until finally one morning the brown envelope dropped onto the door mat.

He sat Alex down at the kitchen table so that she could be there to see the results for herself. He gingerly prised the envelope open and smiled as he read the results. He passed them to Alex and allowed her to read them.

Taking the results in hand he then drove over to Carolines' new flat, he had a slight grin on his face all the way there. Finding her flat he pulled the car up outside and walked up to the door. He rang the doorbell and waited for her to answer.

"Hi, I got the results through this morning, did you?" He asked once she had opened the door to him.

"Yes I did. I'm so sorry for putting you and your wife through that. I genuinely thought you were her Dad. Wishful thinking maybe." Caroline replied referring to the negative test result.

"How do ya mean?" He asked.

"Alex is a lucky woman to have you. You're a much better bloke compared to the sort I'm used to and I want to have what she does. I very almost did, and I threw it all away." She explained.

"So what are you going to do now?" He asked caringly.

"I don't know; keep looking I guess, because obviously if you're not her Dad then Michael probably is. Don't worry; I'll go a different way about it this time." She added. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No thanks, I'd better be getting back to Alex, but thank you for the offer." Smithy said as he stood up from where he was sat.

He walked back to his car and drove back to his family. In one way he was relieved that Suzanna wasn't his daughter, and in another he was sad. He would have liked to have had another child even though he had five tearaways at home. He loved being a Dad and enjoyed all the happiness that it brought him.

Proof of him being a great Dad and being loved by his daughters, was the way they reacted when he walked back into his house. Even though he wasn't Mollys' real Dad; she still lunged at him, throwing her arms round his neck shouting 'Daddy' down the hall as she did so. And no matter where Molly was, baby Gina wouldn't be too far behind her. Teetering unsteadily towards him her face lit up with joy when she saw him.

He went into the living room and hugged Alex when he saw her.

"You're in a very good mood." She commented.

"You're right I am, and there is a very very good reason for it. I wanted to ask you something. This whole thing with Caroline has had me thinking about you, me, us, the girls... a whole lot of things. Anyway what I wanted to ask was, will you let me adopt the kids so that they are officially my daughters and not just by marriage?" He asked excitedly.

Alex smiled. "I've been thinking about that as well, and in fact that was the very same question I was going to ask you." She replied.

Finally Smithy felt as if his family was going to feel like his, so that nothing nor anyone could take that from him.

**Well that's the end of another fic. Thanks to those who read and reviewed it is much appreciated. Keep your eyes peeled coz I have made plans for another fic which will be coming soon.x**


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